The Kansas City Palm User Group (KCPUG) will hold it's June meeting this Saturday, June 17. Please check out our site for meeting details. As usual we will have give away. Our meetings are for new and experienced users of the Palm platform.

Card Access has released the Thincom Portable Modem, a Springboard module. It comes with a Web browser and an e-mail client. The company claims that it "insignificantly impacts Visor's battery life". The modem supports speeds up to 33.6Kbps and sells for $119.95. It will be available from PalmGear in June and in stores later this year.

TDK Systems is now shipping its GlobalPulse software modem that connects Palm devices to a Nokia GSM phone. GlobalPulse provides an efficient GSM data modem that requires only a simple cable between the phone and the handheld. It works with Palm III, IIIx, IIIc, IIIe, V and Vx handhelds and with Nokia's 5190 and 6190 phones.

Handspring announced Wednesday it would move into the Japanese market with a localized version of its Visor handheld. The Japanese-language version of Visor will hit Japan's retail shelves Friday through its wholly owned Japan unit. They will be available on-line starting June 30.

In a related story, Symbol Technologies will license Handspring's Springboard expansion technology for use in its next-generation line of handhelds. Symbol is the first licensee of Springboard technology. Symbol creates ruggedized handhelds running the Palm OS for businesses.

Palm/laptop owners who are frequent travelers can now make use of the new Infrared Internet Access Kiosks located at Singapore's Changi Airport terminals. There are 4 such kiosks with 2 IR ports each in both terminals making it a total of 8 kiosks and 16 IR ports for connecting to the Internet.
Daniel Yong shows us how to use the infrared terminals to check your emails, surf the web etc. free of charge.

If you are planning on attending PC Expo, at the Javits Center in New York City June 26 - 29, you can now download the official Palm personal event planner guide. Session descriptions, their times and locations, exhibitors' show-floor booth locations and their descriptions are examples of what you can readily access on your handheld while at the event. You can download a copy from pcexpo.com. I'm planning on attending and will have reports on all things Palm from the exhibit floor. Hopefully I'll be able to snap some shots of the new Sony Palm PDA.

ZDnet has an interview with Bill Maggs, Palm's chief technology officer. There were several very interesting quotes:

We are going to move wireless into our entire product line. We are going to make it fundamentally part of what you expect Palm to do.

We made a ton of money from licensing to Handspring, and we blew our own numbers away at the same time. There is a gigantic landgrab: Where companies like Yahoo were in 1997, that is where we are right now.

A Palm is a Mac Plus in a really nice box.

OmniSky Corporation announced yesterday that it has closed its most recent fund raising round at $90 million, with financing from Akamai, AT&T Wireless, and InfoSpace. "We are very pleased to have closed such a strong round, both in dollars raised and quality of investments," said Patrick McVeigh, OmniSky's chairman and chief executive officer.

PalmUser magazine, the world's biggest paper-based magazine devoted entirely to Palm organizers and compatibles, is expanding yet again! Issue 4 of PalmUser magazine, out early July, will now feature *120* pages of full color Palm-specific content, including: - Another MASSIVE in-depth review section, including TakeNote/WordSleuth, NS Basic, Time Traveller, axxpac, Kodak Palmpix camera, Lonely Planet guides, Collins Language Dictionary, Infoselect, book reviews and more!

Keeping your palm close at hand has become easier with the new "MyCoolClip.com" accessory for the Palm^TM brand handheld computer.
The clip was originally designed to add convenience and stop Palm misplacement in work environments. It was seen as so useful by the first users of it that the clip is now being made available to individuals. A spare plastic stylus and unique spare-stylus holder are included so the user always has a standby stylus available. A lanyard is included and can be attached to the clip for left or right-handed use. 

Klang Valley Palm User Group has officially launched its website (www.kvpug.org). We are a volunteer group and our mission is to build and support a Palm User community in the Klang Valley, an amalgation of towns, suburbs and business centres surrounding Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. We aim to provide Klang Valley residents with an avenue for exchanging information and experience. We also seek to offer free technical support so far as we are able; to procure Palm related benefits for Palm users; and to form a social network of Palm enthusiasts.

If you are looking for extra protection or a nice case for your Palm V, read our review of the Palm V molded hard case from RhinoSkin. Constructed from 100% Aircraft-Grade Aluminum the molded hard case provides serious protection with a classy look and feel.